Ring preyed on state run orphanages

To most people Portugal's state-run orphanages seemed like a haven for thousands of children who had been robbed of their parents.

They were called the Casa Pia, or Houses of the Pious.

But for an elite paedophile ring, which included a former ambassador and a prominent television celebrity, Casa Pia orphanages were supermarkets stocked with children to abuse.

At the conclusion of the longest trial in Portugal's history, seven defendants have been convicted of using the orphanages to rape and abuse scores of teenage boys in a case that has shocked the country's political elite and raised serious concerns over the efficiency of Portugal's judiciary. Six of the seven were given jail terms of between five and 18 years.

The trial, in Lisbon's top criminal court, is thought to be the largest ever undertaken by Portugal's courts.

Over 5 years, more than 800 witnesses, including 32 alleged victims, gave evidence detailing how a paedophile ring used the orphanages to obtain children for wealthy and influential clients.

The sentencing document alone runs to 2000 pages; judges spent most of yesterday reading out a summary.

Two of those found guilty are Carlos Cruz, a popular television chat-show host with 30 years in show business, and Jorge Ritto, a former ambassador once sent home in disgrace from Germany over allegations he had an improper relationship with a young boy in a park.

Their co-defendants included Carlos Silvino, an orphanage driver who would ferry children to paedophile houses; Joao Ferreira Diniz, a prominent doctor who often picked out deaf and dumb children; Manuel Abrantes, a former deputy principal at an orphanage; solicitor Hugo Marcal; and Gertrude Nunes, the only female defendant, who allowed her house to be used by the paedophile ring.

The successful convictions, eight years after the paedophile scandal was exposed, is a major victory for Portuguese police, under intense criticism over their handling of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

But the trial was dogged by accusations that witnesses had been intimidated, and allegations that senior politicians turned a blind eye to the abuse to protect friends.

Reports that paedophiles were using Casa Pia orphanages to source victims surfaced in the early 1980s but were swept under the carpet.

Teresa Costa Macedo, a senior government official, said she informed the President at the time, General Ramalho Eanes, and provided photographic evidence. But the photographs were "lost" by police. Macedo said she was also intimidated by phone calls.

The current trial began in 2004 after a lengthy investigation which began when nine boys who had been at one of the homes in Lisbon accused several people of sexual abuse.

- INDEPENDENT